Celebrate The Love of Your Life This Special Holiday – Italian Food!
Everyone loves Italian – even gluten-free folks figured out a way to make a pasta that works for them. So, to celebrate National Italian Food Day on February 13th, we wanted to highlight some great Italian restaurants that we’ve visited over the past year to give you some new noodle options.
DiPaolo
This neighborhood spot in Alpharetta has been serving delicious Italian food – alongside a lengthy wine list – since 1995. They make everything from scratch – from the pastas to the cheeses to the salad dressings. Try the pappardelle con conivlio – large last pasta noodles served with braised rabbit, castelvetrano olive, and grana padano.
Double Zero
The Castelluccis have been running excellent restaurants throughout Atlanta for decades. Their Double Zero, which moved from Sandy Springs to the Emory area, continues the tradition. They make their pasta fresh, every day and delicious Neapolitan style pizzas in the oven. But our favorite was probably the Chicken meatballs – they make them with springer mountain chicken and serve it over a bed of plenty with garlic, Pecorino Romano cheese and puttanesca red sauce to top it off.
Il Giallo
Chef Jamie Adams is one of Atlanta’s best chefs and his Sandy Springs Italian spot continues that excellence. Il Giallo makes pasta fresh every day in house (sensing a theme, here?) – in fact, Chef Jamie periodically holds pasta making classes – visit their website for more info. But in addition to the pasta, Chef Jamie makes an incredible whole baked fish – the Lazio. Simple ingredients like capers, lemon and Extra Virgin Olive Oil bring tremendous amounts of flavor to this humble dish.
Piastra
When you think Italian, you think family and Piastra delivers on both counts. Run by a mother son duo – Mama Betty’s front of house, Chef Greg’s in the kitchen – the Marietta square restaurant delivers fresh, authentic Italian dishes every day. Try the brodetto – the ocean in a bowl. It’s a seafood stew with clams, mussels, shrimp, fish and fried calamari in a red pepper broth with house-made spicy pork belly sausage over Anson Mill Heirloom Hominy Polenta.
Cibo E Beve
Chef Linda Harrel has been delivering great dishes to customers at this Sandy Springs pasta shop for years. With a focus on sustainable ingredients, Harrell infuses dishes with great Italian flavors. While the meatballs are a crowd favorite and keeps the regulars coming back, we also loved the lobster spaghetti. Shallots, scallions and garlic are all sautéed in olive oil with hints of red pepper and large chunks of fresh Maine lobster. The dish is coated in white wine to create a delicious broth.
